• PC World
• » Networking & Wireless

Safe, Secure Speed

Is it safe online? Well, nobody can reach in through your Internet connection and grab you, but bored, mean-spirited hackers do have a habit of looking for connected PCs that incautiously leave all their doors and windows open. In a worst-case scenario, a nosy Netizen could exploit your always-on connection to examine your files (including whatever sensitive data they contain), delete files, crash your computer, or plant a Trojan horse--a program that conceals nefarious code within what looks like a normal application.

All of these dangers are more real for broadband customers than for dial-up users (see " Five Reasons Why We (Still) Love Dial-Up").

Essential Security

What can you do? First, gauge your system's vulnerability. Go to Gibson Research's Shields Up Web site (it's free), click the Shields Up link, and run the tests for system vulnerabilities. Depending on what these tests turn up, site author Gibson offers plain-English suggestions on how to plug your system's security leaks. Anyone who uses Windows and has a broadband Internet connection should also read Gibson's Network Bondage page for instructions on how to reduce exposure to snoops.

Next, install a personal firewall product such as Network ICE's $40 BlackICE Defender, Symantec's $70 Norton Internet Security 2001, or Zone Labs' free ZoneAlarm 2.1. All three do a good job of blocking access to your system's 65,000 network port addresses and even masking your computer's existence altogether. Most personal firewalls display probes into your system's ports in real time, and you may be disturbed by the number of probes you receive.

Or you may be pleasantly surprised to find that your service provider has already set up a firewall for you. When I installed a copy of BlackICE Defender to monitor the cable connection that I'd had newly installed from AT&T@Home, I discovered to my delight that my PC didn't draw a single port probe or attack. Apparently, at least in my neck of the woods, AT&T takes security seriously enough to put up its own firewall. Still, I don't plan on taking any chances. Even though the only probes BlackICE has reported so far have come from my own computers, AT&T's, or the Shields Up site, I'm leaving my personal firewall up. Just as you can never have too much bandwidth, you can never have too much Internet security. --Scott Spanbauer

• See more like this:
• dsl,
• video,
• broadband